Dannielle Diamant scored a game-high 20 points for the Wildcats (11-3, 2-1), who had shared the Big Ten lead with the Buckeyes. Amy Jaeschke had 13 points and two rebounds and topped 500 rebounds for her career.

Ohio State, which came in averaging 84.5 points per game, shot 52.2 percent (35 of 67) from the field and 50 percent (9 of 18) on 3-pointers. Northwestern shot just 37.9 percent (22 of 58) from the field but outrebounded the Buckeyes 37-35.